ONR to prosecute AWE

25 July, 2018

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has notified the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) of its intention to prosecute the company for offences under Section 2 (1)* of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (1974).

The charge relates to an electrical incident on 27 June 2017 which resulted in injury to an AWE employee. The incident was a conventional health and safety matter and the ONR is satisfied that there was no radiological risk to workers or the public.

The decision to prosecute follows an investigation into the incident by the ONR, the UK’s independent nuclear safety regulator.

A spokesman for the ONR said: “For legal reasons we are unable to comment further on the details of the case which is now the subject of active court proceedings.”

Proceedings are currently scheduled to commence in Reading Magistrates Court on 18 September 2018.

* Section 2 (1) ‘General duties of employers to their employees’ of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (1974) reads: ‘It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.’